While it’s not revolutionary (my basic Honeywell WiFi unit has had this for years), Nest is adding high and low temperature threshold alerts via a software update.
Announced on their blog, Nest claims they can alert you “before the pipes freeze or a pet overheats.” Well that’s a little dramatic for my tastes, but it gets the point across. Basically, you’ll be able to pick a temperature and get alerted if it hits that temperature. More practically, it’s a great way to know if your heat or AC failed to start, indicating you either need a repair man or your Nest screwed up.
I really do love the arbitrary references to pipes bursting or pets dying. It might as well say it can alert you if a ghost from Supernatural gets mad or a volcano erupts in your basement….which it will actually be able to do after the software update. So, yay!